As I discussed earlier this month, Substance is making their “official” introduction as an organization tomorrow night, Friday March 27th, with the Manifestation concert at First Ave. In anticipation of the show, the guys at Cake in 15 were able to talk to Substance co-founder Jim Morrey to get the low-down on what Substance is all about. Read it all here!

“The word “manifestation” shares a root with “manifestazioni”, the Italian word for “protest”. Both come from the Latin ”manifestus”, literally, “struck by the hand”, as in, “to forge” or “to make known”. It is an apt title for the second show put on by Substance, a non-profit booking and promotions company with a mission to blend the audiences of music and progressive political issues. Their first concert was the Ripple Effect concert during the Republican National Convention which garnered attention when Rage Against The Machine went out into the crowd to play after being told by the authorities to shut down.

Providence, R.I. rapper Sage Francis headlines Manifestation in the First Avenue Mainroom this Friday 3/27, with support from Cecil Otter, B. Dolan, Building Better Bombs and The God Damn Doo Wop Band. Beyond the music, expect lots of groups to have information and a “Manifest Station”, a networking hub for progressive issues. Cake In 15 caught up with Substance co-founder Jim Forrey to talk about civil disobedience, accumulating debt and the value of art.”

Substance, the Minneapolis based progressive arts, activism, and action organization that brought us the unforgettable Ripple Effect concert outside the capital during the RNC, has announced plans for their first followup to the Ripple Effect. While it’s pretty much impossible for them to top the RE lineup (that featured such amazing appearances as Dead Prez, Michael Franti, Anti-Flag, and the infamous RATM acappella set that sparked a much larger march to the RNC gates), Substance has admittedly done an amazing job to put together a praiseworthy collection of performing artists for the Manifest Station event that will take place at First Avenue on March 27th. As they recently announced, the ever-gracious Sage Francis has signed on to headline this very reasonably priced event, and support is set to be provided by a variety of (mostly) local hip-hop heavyweights; so far the list includes the P.O.S. fronted modern hardcore punk band Building Better Bombs, B. Dolan, Cecil Otter of Doomtree, and the God Damn Doo Wop Band. Not to mention, if you arrive early enough you’ll be able to catch a Cecil Otter headlined local pre-show with The Battle Royale and El Guante, and Big Cats at the 7th St. Entry! And the crazy Rage Against the Machine performance was never announced, so who knows if the Substance guys have anything else crazy up their sleeves for this event… you’ll just have to attend to find out. Visit ManifestStation.org for all the details!